


We'll Have to Make an Exception

by fightforyourwrite



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Dancing and Singing, Drinking & Talking, F/M, Music, Slow Dancing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-06-10
Updated: 2017-06-10
Packaged: 2018-11-12 12:55:24
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 985
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11162277
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fightforyourwrite/pseuds/fightforyourwrite
Summary: "You don't dance?""No.""Can't or won't?""Let's call it a bit of both."





	We'll Have to Make an Exception

Levi is impressed with how well Gunther can sing. It’s delightfully paradoxical that the soldier known for being quiet and withdrawn is the one with a voice that can fill an entire room. 

He can hear Gunther’s voice even across the tavern, the musical notes accompanying him only adding to the effect. 

Gunther seems at home when he’s sitting in front of a piano. His fingers press on the keys like it was what they were made to do. Everyone else seems to agree that Gunther’s voice is lovely, because they haven’t stopped him from playing songs just yet.

The piano and singer in the tavern corner sends a wonderful tune to every edge of the room. Levi watches the sight of (possibly intoxicated) bar patrons slowly dancing to the rhythm. 

It’s one of those dances where there’s not a lot of movement except for swaying. Tipsy men and women hold each other, hands in hands and heads resting against shoulders. 

Levi had seen dancing before, but he had never tried it himself. It did not seem like his forte.

To get his mind off all the things he had never gotten to do, Levi looks beside him. There sits two things not uncommon to the average tavern, Petra Ral and a bottle of vodka. 

Petra pours a bit of the clear liquid into a rocks glass and takes it in her hand. She finishes it with a deep gulp and places it back on the table with a distinctive slamming noise. 

“Do you need a bigger glass?” Levi asks, noting that he had barely touched his own portion of liquor. 

“No,” Petra tells him, just as she refills her glass again. “But I do plan on finishing this bottle. The question is, do you plan on helping me?” 

“You should get Auruo for that,” Levi tells her honestly. 

“I would,” Petra agrees. She glances across the tavern and spots her squadmate in the group of people dancing. “But he’s a bit preoccupied at the moment.” 

Levi turns to where she’s looking to see what predicament Auruo Bossard had gotten himself into this time. For once, it’s not something involving his tongue being bitten. 

Auruo is currently dancing with a soldier Levi doesn’t recognize. By the look of her jacket, she’s not a Corps member. It’s clearly someone from the Garrison, which makes sense considering the mix of soldiers currently occupying the bar. 

Levi sees just how touchy the two are getting and wonders how many drinks Auruo had consumed in the last hour. 

It’s not necessarily a Squad Leader’s job to play babysitter to drunk soldiers, but if there’s someone who’s collar he has to tug at to get them back to HQ, it’s probably going to be Auruo’s. 

“It’s nice to hear Gunther singing again,” Petra says, breaking Levi’s train of thought.

He looks back to her, giving Petra a firm nod.  

“He has a wonderful voice. It’s good to see him doing well right now,” she continues, brushing a strand of hair away from her face. “You know, he gets the worst nightmares out of the four of us.” 

Levi was not aware of that fact. “How do you know?” 

“Eld says he mumbles in his sleep,” Petra answers, taking small sips of her vodka instead of chugging the damn thing. “Something about the Corps, sometimes about someone leaving. None of us have talked about it with him yet. We don’t want to force him. He’ll talk when he’s ready.” 

Across the room, Gunther starts a different song. It has a similar rhythm to the last, but it’s just a little slower. It’s a song made for getting lost in a dance and in your partner’s embrace, a feeling that a lot of soldiers start to crave over the years. 

“You don’t dance?” Petra wonders. 

Levi shakes his head. “No.” 

“You can’t or you won’t?” 

He shrugs his shoulders, “Let’s call it a bit of both.” 

The act looks tempting, Levi cannot deny that. He notices the look of peace on the soldiers faces as they dance together in pairs. 

Auruo seems content with the random Garrison girl who had fallen for his drunken charm. Hanji had taken to the floor with Nanaba out of all people. Despite the oddness of their choice in partner, Hanji doesn’t seem to regret the predicament. Everyone looks at peace with themselves.

Levi envies those feelings. 

He hears Petra put her glass down again, but when he spares a quick glance at it, he notices that it’s not empty for once. 

Petra stands up from her chair and walks in front of Levi. 

“So you can’t dance, can’t you?” she asks her Captain. “Let me guess, no one ever taught you how?”

Levi nods, “There were other things in my past deemed more important to learn.” 

“Okay.” Petra comprehends his words quickly, not being quick to judge his past or where he came from. 

She stretches her arms for a brief moment, along with shaking out her hands and legs. Levi would have guessed that she was preparing for a bar fight. 

But instead of balling her hand into a fist, she raises it up, palm and fingers open, and holds it out to Levi in an invitation to take it. 

“In most cases, it’s the man who leads the woman, but in this case, we’ll have to make an exception,” she says with an inviting voice. 

Her eyes tell Levi that she really would enjoy it if he took her hand, or that she’s a little more drunk than she’s letting on. 

Levi isn’t sure just how he’ll reply. He hasn’t had enough drinks to get to Auruo or Hanji’s state of bliss. In fact, alcohol barely affects him at all. 

But somehow, in a choice that is definitely not against his better judgement, Levi Ackerman reaches out to Petra Ral and takes her hand. 


End file.
